[name_f]My[/name_f] main character is close friends with two twins, [name_f]Norah[/name_f] and [name_u]Elijah[/name_u]. They are African-American.
I created these characters a long time ago, but recently I have heard about the “black best friend” trope. I have also read that white authors should stop including people of color in their books just for the sake of diversity. But the thing is, I love these characters, and I’m not including them just to have a diverse book.
Is it bad for a white author to attempt characters of other races? I’m afraid that I wouldn’t write them properly, or people would say that they were just thrown in for diversity. I do not want that! I want them to be awesome characters.
I don’t think it’s bad to branch into other races, in fact I think the opposite. It’s good to branch out races because it gets you out of your comfort zone. You could research African American’s to make sure you write them properly or correctly if your worried about that. Unfortunately, you can’t control what other people think or say and there will probably always be someone to say you threw them in, just to throw them in but you’ll know the truth so just ignore them to the best of your ability.
there’s definitely no issue with it, in my opinion. from what I’ve heard from Black people in the writing community, the only issue comes from trying to write the struggles that Black people face for them.
and honestly, i don’t think there’s an issue with having POC characters for the sake of diversity. if someone added a gay or trans character just to add diversity, i wouldn’t care. minor representation like that is really important.
i think there would be an issue if all of your characters were white cishet people. books like that are always so lame - and when an author doesn’t include characters of different races, i wonder why.
a good example of a white author writing POC characters is red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquinston. the author is white but the main character is half white, half Mexican (with his Mexican identity playing a big part in his personality). i’ve never seen anyone say anything bad about it, and i believe mcquinston wrote the character very well, without overstepping in any way. so it can definitely be done & i don’t think you’ll have any issues
i think it’s very important that we include diversity in our books–whether that’s in race, gender, sexuality, disabilities, etc. however, i think it’s important that we remember that we’re writing “real” people. do your research. talk to people like the characters your writing and listen to what they say. give your characters personalities, look at overused tropes in books. read diverse books by diverse authors.
so yes, i think it’s fine that you include Black characters in your book–that’s important! just remember that there is so much more to people than the color of your skin.
(also, books where every character is white, cisgendered, and heterosexual gets very boring.)
the biggest thing to keep in mind is respect: you’re writing about people unlike you, so like I said, listen to others, do your research, and remember to flesh out your characters. sensitivity readers are going to be your best friend.
lastly, you’re not going to get it on your first draft, and that’s okay. just keep that in mind.
I think that’s the most important thing. Write black characters, but don’t write about being black. Your stories are always going to include people who are different from you in all kinds of ways, not just the ones you think of first when hearing “diversity”, like race and sexuality, but also age, gender, class, upbringing etc. Don’t write about being old, but you can (and probably should) still give your characters parents and grandparents. Write boys and girls, but don’t describe what it’s like to have the kind of body you have no experience with. (This sounds stupidly obvious, but I’ve seen a piece by a male, grownup, published author describing in detail how complicated it is to use a toilet without a penis.)
I think it’s ridiculous to say that a white author can’t have people of color in their books. I actually love the idea! It’s not just for diversity, I love seeing different cultures incorporated into a story.
By all means you should write African American characters.
To write them properly, make them like real people with wants and fears and hopes and dreams. To avoid tokenism, have them matter. Too often black characters are just cardboard cutouts who are there in the background. Let them make choices that actually matter in the story. Have them do something significant out of their own autonomy and not just be a plot device for the protagonist.
And for the love of all that is good, consider NOT having them die if they are the only black characters in the story.
You can google this topic to learn more about common cliches and stereotypes to avoid.
